Calm The Fire
by LowlifeTheory
Summary: Detective Derek Hale is the newest addition to the Beacon Hills PD, he's been partnered up with John Stilinski. He's also dating Stilinski's son Stiles who is seventeen. John knows, and until Stiles is eighteen there are a strict set of rules around their relationship. There's also a serial killer in Beacon Hills targeting teens, so just a typical day at BHHS really.
1. Chapter 1

This work has been finished bar editing. I hope to post approx. a chapter per week. I started this fic in 2012 and happened to discover it on an old laptop when I was clearing the system. I kind of like the setup here, I may add shorter one shots after I've completed it, fics that I've written and never posted anywhere.

-/-

'I think that'll do us.' The voice came from the darkness, hidden deep within the trees. There was a hum and a buzz, the sound of undergrowth being crushed underfoot and then silence.

Sally clutched the strap of her bag tighter and stepped carefully over the dirt path through the woods. She was tired, and it was stupid to use this shortcut but Sally just wanted to sink into a hot bath and forget all about her day. It wasn't to happen though, in the distance a car started, and Sally could smell burning. Some idiots had started a fire in the forest again. With a sigh Sally put her head down and hurried on, but the smoke attracted her and she paused at the clearing.

What she saw made her heart stop and her gut heave. She couldn't stop the scream that left her lungs, and it reminded her how terribly alone she was in this forest with a crucified body smouldering on a cross just twenty feet away from her.

-/-

Stiles cuddled against his boyfriend's chest, conscious of his father's eyes pointedly not looking their way because he allowed this, he agreed to this, and he'd told them, after many hours of awkward discussions to just act natural, be themselves around him. It was still weird though, touching Derek like this, resting against him when his father was right there.

Derek's hand had slipped beneath Stiles's t-shirt, his thumb rubbed a slow circle against the skin of Stiles's side, the soft part below the ribs. It was a soothing movement, though who the feeling was soothing for Stiles had yet to determine.

Isaac was almost asleep length ways along the sofa, feet dangling over the edge while John relaxed back into his recliner, leaving the love seat for the lovebirds; at least that's how Isaac put it to them with a teasing smile as he claimed the sofa for himself after dinner.

Stiles made a mental note to thank his father for everything he'd done for them, supporting their relationship against the odds, keeping their secret and letting them act like a couple in the privacy of their home. Stiles had only been seventeen to Derek's twenty five the first time they kissed, was still seventeen, technically, but that would change soon.

Derek shifted beside him and snorted a breath out, tickling the skin on Stiles's neck. A moment later a soft snore told Stiles that Derek was asleep. John watched with wide eyes, and he looked like he was holding in a laugh.

'He's been working hard lately,' John said eventually, and although his lips twitched his eyes softened. 'It isn't easy for him, he's young and he has to prove himself. He's first in, usually last out unless he's meeting you, and takes all the overtime god sends his way.'

'He works hard,' Stiles agreed running his fingers through Derek's deceptively soft hair.

'When he wakes get him a beer and I'll let him stay the night,' John said kindly, 'but your bedroom door stays open and if I hear anything wetter than kissing...'

'Dad!' Stiles could feel the heat in his cheeks but John lifted his eyebrows. 'You won't hear anything Dad I swear, I mean, we won't...' Stiles sat up straighter. The prospect of sleeping in his boyfriends arms, of waking up on a lazy Sunday morning making out and cuddling had Stiles's belly rolling with excitement.

'I trust you both,' John confirmed looking back at the television. This would be the perfect Saturday night, take out with his family and his boyfriend, a Lethal Weapon fest and junk food. He didn't want to push his luck asking for a beer, what he had right now was pushing enough luck for the year.

Derek woke half an hour later when Stiles laughed out loud at the television. 'Sorry,' he said as Derek sat up with bleary eyes and looked around the room.

'I should make tracks,' Derek said reluctantly. He straightened in the seat and rolled his neck from side to side.

'Nonsense. Stay and have a beer with me,' John said. Derek opened his mouth to speak but John beat him to it. 'I'll allow you to stay as long as Stiles's bedroom door stays open. I don't need to get more graphic than that do I?'

'No!' Derek said quickly, eyes wide. 'Not at all,' Stiles stood up and winked at Derek, padding into the kitchen. He poured two tall glasses of coca cola for Isaac and himself, and uncapped two bottles of beer, adding a bowl of chips and carrot slices to the tray.

'Stiles,' John sighed heavily and put upon when Stiles set the tray onto the coffee table making sure to angle the carrots towards his father.

'Dude you had pizza earlier and I let you have some curly fries too and now beer. I don't think low fat chips and carrot sticks are the end of the world,' Stiles scolded as he sat on the floor between Derek's feet shuffling backwards until his shoulder was pressed against the inside of Derek's knee. Derek's fingers pushed through his hair and he let his thumb rest on Stiles's pulse.

'Alright, alright. His mother was just like this too you know, always bossing me around. You mark my words Derek son you're in for a life of it!' John said sticking a finger at Stiles, although the corner of his lips was curling up.

'Yeah well I'd like to keep you around for as long as possible please,' Stiles said holding the dish of carrot sticks out to his dad who took one with a grumpy frown. 'And stop trying to frighten my boyfriend off!'

They'd just put the DVD for Lethal Weapon Two in when Derek's mobile rang, and seconds later his dads did too.

'No!' Stiles whined dropping his head back to look up at Derek who was shooting him an apologetic smile as he barked his name into the handset. His dad was already talking.

'Be right there,' Derek said ending the call. 'I'm sorry baby,' he leaned forward and kissed Stiles on the lips. Stiles pouted into the kiss.

'Wouldn't be so hasty in saying goodbye,' John said indicating two empty bottles they each had, not to mention the whiskey tumblers.

'You can't drive but you can fight crime?' Isaac asked.

Derek snorted and muttered something under his breath but he was already pushing his feet into his boots and pulling his jacket over his shoulders.

'Criminal,' Stiles teased when he was tossed the keys to Derek's Camaro. 'Wait what?'

'It's not an official police vehicle like your dads car us, and it's more trustworthy than your jeep,' Derek said. Isaac was on his feet in seconds, giddy at the prospect of riding in Derek's sports car.

John rolled his eyes but held the door open for them, locking it behind them. 'You two stay in the car. If I catch you out of it I'll ground you both until you graduate. And that's college, not high school!' Derek sat in the front by Stiles while Isaac slunk into the backseat beside John. Stiles couldn't help but grin at Isaac in Derek's mirror, and Isaac returned the smile.

The engine purred to life and Stiles licked his lips as he wrapped his hands around the smooth steering wheel. For a moment Stiles closed his eyes and imagined this was his car and there was just him, Derek and the open road, not a dark track to a crime scene that would distract both his father and his boyfriend.

'Hey, Stiles,' John said softly from the backseat. Stiles opened his eyes and turned to smile at Derek. Derek was watching him closely, and Stiles smiled turned to check his mirrors before he let the car roll out of the driveway. It warmed Stiles that Derek relaxed and didn't complain about Stiles's driving, and a little bloom of pride tickled Stiles's chest.

Derek directed Stiles to where he wanted to go, and they parked without speaking. Derek squeezed Stiles's knee as John left them with a final reminder to stay in the car.

'What do you think has happened?' Isaac breathed crawling into the front seat even before Derek's passenger door closed. Derek shot him a look but Isaac ignored it in favour of making himself comfortable.

'I don't know,' Stiles muttered. There was a police scanner in Stiles's jeep (unofficial of course, despite the fact that both his dad and his boyfriend knew about it) but Derek's car was all normal, nothing exciting that Stiles could use. They watched people gathering at the police lines, a woman whose heels kept sinking in the mud, a guy who looked like an FBI agent from the fifties with a hat and long brown coat, and Lacrosse Co-Captain Dream Team Jackson Whittemore and Scott McCall. They did everything together, dated the hottest girls in school, socialised with the coolest people and played the best game; they practically shared a life.

'What are they doing here?' Isaac muttered sliding down in his seat to keep out of sight.

'Don't know that either,' Stiles bit his lip and looked away, his eyes finding Isaac's in the dim light. 'Want to play I spy?'

'I spy with my little eye, something beginning with T,' Isaac said linking his long fingers over his belly.

'Turd,' Stiles said immediately, his eyes going to where the Co Captains stood. Isaac burst out laughing, his knees cracking against the glove compartment while he cackled. He let out a shout and leaned forward, but Stiles nudged him, Jackson and Scott were looking their way. Stiles waved, and Isaac joined him. Scott's look lingered longer than Jackson's before he looked away.

More than an hour later John and Derek came back to the car, both quiet and grim. Derek opened the driver door and nodded for Stiles to get out. They didn't share affection in public, being careful of attracting attention to their age difference. 'I'll drive you two home,' Derek said softly his fingers lingering on Stiles's hoodie sleeve for a moment. Stiles nodded his understanding and joined Isaac in the back, waiting until they were on the dark road out of the forest before reaching forward and tucking his fingers under the collar of Derek's jacket. Derek pushed his head back and let a slow breath out, enjoying the feeling of Stiles touching him as he drove into town.

John and Derek left for the station as soon as the front door closed, and deflated Stiles and Isaac went to bed after clearing away the debris from the family room. It was after four am when a cold body touched Stiles's back and woke him.

'You came back,' Stiles muttered. Derek buried his face in Stiles's neck and pressed a cold hand underneath Stiles's t-shirt, resting it on his belly. Stiles shivered but didn't push him away.

'Course I did. Go to sleep,' Derek ordered. Stiles turned to him and demanded a kiss, his lips seeking Derek out. Cold hands pushed under Stiles's t-shirt but moved no further than his waist. Stiles nuzzled Derek's cheek when they parted, he could taste coffee on his lips. 'Go to sleep,' Derek whispered again. Stiles didn't intend to obey, but his body somehow did.

Stiles woke late, Derek like a furnace behind him. Twisting Stiles pressed a kiss to his slack lips and rolled out of bed, padding downstairs to the kitchen. No one else was awake yet, the house silent around him. Stiles liked being the only one awake, or at least out of bed.

He peeked into the fridge, put the coffee pot on and went back to bed. Derek dragged him under the comforter as soon as he got hold of him, kissing him softly, half pinning Stiles beneath his body.

'What do you want for breakfast?' Stiles asked wishing he'd brushed his teeth. Derek didn't seem to be suffering from morning breath but he was sure his own mouth was foul.

'You,' Derek said attacking his lips again. Not caring about anything other than kissing. Stiles snorted and let Derek kiss him, rolling them until Derek was on top of him.

'Me, for breakfast?' Stiles asked as Derek kissed his neck, nipping gently at his collarbone, and Derek rolled them again, clearly miscalculating because they landed on the floor with a loud thud in a tangled heap.

'Morning Stiles, Derek.' A voice said from the doorway.

'Morning Dad.' Stiles said burying his face against Derek's laughing chest. 'Not funny.' Stiles hissed.

'A little funny,' Derek pointed out.

Stiles huffed but Derek untangled them and stood up. Stiles followed him downstairs to where John was pouring the first cup of coffee. Isaac was sitting on the counter his socked feet dangling off the floor.

'So uh, what happened?' Stiles asked. Derek was pouring a cup of coffee for himself and Stiles watched his shoulders tense.

'A teenage girl was found dead,' John said from his place at the table. He already had the morning paper open and was reading over the details of the murder he already knew inside out. Stiles watched as he scribbled notes into the margin of the paper, then tore the section off and pushed it towards Derek.

'Who was she?' Isaac asked curiously.

'Uh...she hasn't been identified,' Derek said sharing a look with John. Stiles knew that being police detectives, they had to have some secrets but there was something about that look they just shared, that something more feeling that Stiles had coming through the bones in the back of his neck had him curious.

'What?' Stiles asked looking between them.

'It's a bit horrific,' Derek admitted leaning back against the counter. 'And...' Derek trailed off with a huff.

'Look I don't want you two boys harassed at school. Derek and I have talked, we don't want to tell you but we don't want you to hear from a rumour mill either,' John said sharing another look with Derek.

'We think that she was burned alive,' Derek said softly. Isaac gagged and paled. Stiles watched Derek closely but he was either wearing a good mask or he genuinely wasn't affected. Derek's own father had been burned alive inside his car, but then Stiles wasn't sure if Derek knew Stiles knew, and that thought was complicated.

'Something tells us that she wasn't from Beacon Hills,' John added plucking at the coffee cup. 'And that's all we're saying for now. We can talk about anything you two boys hear but let's have breakfast first huh?'

'I'll cook,' Derek said turning away and facing the counter. Stiles watched his boyfriend move around the kitchen, perfectly comfortable in their environment. He understood, this murder undoubtedly brought up bad memories from his own past, and Stiles was surprised his dad hadn't tried to distract Derek away from the case to something else, but then Stiles himself knew that they were the best detective team in Beacon Hills PD. John helped Derek with breakfast, but it was mostly Derek's work, eggs, lean bacon and whole meal toast. 'We're going to the station after this and then I'm going home,' Derek said when he sat beside Stiles.

'Oh,' Stiles said failing to hide his disappointment.

'I'm sure you have plenty to do anyway,' Derek pointed out.

'Yeah, homework. And collage essays, and...' Stiles huffed out a breath. Collage essays, Stiles knew where he wanted to attend, Berkeley was an hour away, but Derek and his dad still forced him to explore all his options.

'We're going to the movies tomorrow night right?' Derek asked poking Stiles in the shoulder with the blunt end of his knife.

'Yeah,' Stiles said trying to ignore the feeling of being left alone yet again. He knew Isaac was here but still, he would have liked to spend a little more time with Derek focusing on something not crime or family related, like making out.

They kissed goodbye later in the living room, and Stiles waved out the window as Derek drove away. He tried not to sigh as he made his way to his bedroom.


	2. Chapter 2

'I found evidence of rope on her body, arms, legs and torso. There are wounds on her hands and feet, like large pins were forced through, broken bones, entry and exit marks. There's bruising on the back of her skull, she was hit with something blunt. She was alive when she was set alight, but I suspect unconscious,' the state pathologist Melissa McCall said.

'Jesus Christ,' John said.

Derek's insides churned, when they found the burned corpse in the woods last night they expected nothing like this.

The heat had twisted the body, looking like her ankles had been bound and the fire had somehow managed to fuse them together. Something poked at the edges of Derek's memory but he couldn't pull the thought forward. He flipped open his notebook and made a mark on the page hoping that a review of the evidence when there was more would help him gather his thoughts better.

'She was unconscious?' Derek asked. Melissa looked at the bodies with a sad expression, she was a tough woman in her early forties, attractive with a strong air about her. Derek liked her a lot, she had been good with him when he first arrived in Beacon Hills.

'When the fire started yes,' she said 'It may have woken her.'

Derek felt a shudder claw at his spine. His wolf prowled, angered that this had happened, remembering his own fathers fate. Derek closed his eyes, counted to ten. When he opened them Melissa was bent over the body, John hovering as close as he was allowed. 'You know if I had five minutes alone with that bastard!' Melissa muttered.

'I understand,' Derek said touching her elbow. Melissa nodded, squeezing her eyes shut for a minute.

'I'll have my report later I haven't exactly finished with this yet,' Melissa admitted. It looked like she had barely started.

'That's okay,' Derek said. He understood, post mortems couldn't be easy at the best of times but this had to be horrific. Derek's boots were quiet on the sterile floor of the exam room as he stepped away leaving Melissa to her work.

'Melissa, sweetheart, we'll be in touch,' John said following Derek out of the room. 'Nice woman Melissa,' John said as they got into the car.

Derek checked his watch. Stiles would be in English now. He wondered if it was sad for a twenty five year old man to know his boyfriends school schedule.

'I like her,' Derek tried to drag his mind back to the case, away from the boy who consumed his thoughts, who had his wolf itching to take, keep, protect.

'Her son and Stiles used to be best friends,' John said as they drove back to the crime scene.

'Scott?' Derek asked shooting John a knowing look.

'Stiles does prattle on,' John said softly.

'I think I know his family history better than he does,' Derek admitted. John laughed.

'Stiles is a good boy, he likes you,' John said flexing his fingers on the steering wheel.

'I love him,' Derek admitted softly to his hands. Derek hated that he didn't feel guilt when he talked about this with John.

'He knows you love him, he's mature, even though he can be an absolute idiot, I love him too,' John said steering his cruiser onto the dirt track. 'After Claudia, if it wasn't for Stiles,' John shrugged. 'He grew up fast, too fast but that doesn't leave a kid, it kind of changes them. Stiles was an adult long before either his mother or I wanted him to be.'

Forensics were still combing the area, and this was the third time they'd visited, but they still had no leads other than a partial boot print, no DNA, nothing. It was frustrating for them, and the families, because Melissa's first priority had been dental recoded and identification, which they'd confirmed yesterday afternoon.

An incoming text caught Derek's attention.

 _Lots of gossip flying around school about that poor girl. Also Harris is a jerk._

Derek chuckled but didn't reply. He knew Stiles didn't expect one. Someone brushed past him and Derek sighed as he moved out of the search range beyond the cordons. The forest was quiet here, and he remembered his childhood running through these woods with his sisters. He'd had a lot of firsts out here as a teen, sneaking around. He hoped the girl wasn't manipulated into coming here with the promise of an amazing first time, peeking at the stars through the canopy of trees. It's a line his brother had used a few times. He tried it once or twice himself, but Paige had told him where to go with a big grin. In the end they had come here, but it was her idea, looking for privacy more than anything else.

'Derek,' John called, 'they've found a shoe.'

John held up a clear bag where a black heeled shoe lay innocently. It looked well kept, tidy even. These shoes hadn't touched the earth under Derek's feet.

Derek walked back to the scene and looked around. John stopped beside him. A few leaves rustled, a wind was picking up. Derek glanced at the trees then up at the darkening sky. He felt useless, there was very little evidence here, and very little he could do until his autopsy had been finished.

'Boys will be getting out of school,' John said rolling his shoulders 'don't you have a date?'

Derek smiled at John. The man was turning out to be a good mentor and a better friend. 'Are you trying to get rid of me?'

'Yes. Go woo my son!' John teased. Derek smiled at him.

'We better head back then,' Derek said. John nodded and they made it back to the car just as it started to rain.

-/-

Stiles was sitting at the coffee table with Isaac when Derek arrived to collect him.

They kissed inside the door, Derek pinning Stiles to the wall, then walked to Derek's car with an appropriate few feet between them. Stiles slid inside and let his fingers caress over the leather of the seats. 'I enjoyed driving the other night.'

'I bet you did,' Derek said as he clipped his seat belt into place. Stiles flicked through the radio before he settled on low easy listening music. Derek was glaring and Stiles made a point to send his boyfriend a wide grin. 'You distress me.'

'You love the distress, it keeps you young,' Stiles said as he settled back into the seat. It was still raining outside and Stiles watched as it splashed onto the sidewalk. They were silent as they left Beacon Hills and pulled onto the highway.

'So I wanted to talk to you,' Stiles fiddled with the strings on his hoodie.

Derek made a noise and Stiles shifted slightly in his seat.

'About sex,' Stiles swallowed and glanced at Derek.

'Stiles, you have my undivided attention,' Derek said.

'Well I hope not because you're driving and you need to pay attention to the road; that's important when driving to expect the unexpected and did you know that a third of all road deaths-'

The car swerved and pulled in at the side of the road. Derek didn't kill the engine, it hummed lightly as he turned in his seat to look at Stiles. He leaned across the car and cupped Stiles's cheek in his hand the kiss was gentle and chaste, their lips brushed for a few moments before Derek pulled away.

'You have my undivided attention,' Derek said again.

'What if we're not compatible?' Stiles blurted.

'I think we are, we have chemistry and we have fun on dates,' Derek said but he was smiling.

'I mean sexually,' Stiles huffed.

'I know what you mean,' Derek said. 'It's not all mapped out for us, I mean we need to figure out what each other likes, that's the fun of a new relationship.'

'What if you don't like what I like?' Stiles licked his lips. Derek's eyes raked over his face, and then he was kissing Stiles again, only this time there was tongue and teeth. Stiles gripped as Derek's shoulders as Derek kissed him breathless.

When they pulled apart Derek's lips were red and his cheeks flushed. 'Stiles you can't research everything before it happens.'

'Well I can but-' Stiles sucked the inside of his cheek. 'Do you watch porn?'

'That's a personal question,' Derek said but he was smiling.

'It's just that- do you?' Stiles swallowed again.

Derek smiled, slow and feral. 'You're going to ask me what I like next, if I have favourites. Then you're going to look them up, watch and take notes on them, and you're going to base our first time together on the porn I like.'

'Well...' Stiles folded his arms. 'Dating detectives suck.'

'I will suck. Soon, when you're ready but until then I'm not sharing porn with you. Someday, when we have a normal healthy sex life we'll go looking for porn together, but not before then. Porn is designed to get you off visually, and it's fun but that's not how we start off,' Derek adjusted himself back into his seat.

'So how do I know what you like?' Stiles asked as Derek pulled back onto the road.

'We talk dumbass, we try things. What I may not have liked with exes I could love with you,' Derek said.

'I want to kiss you again,' Stiles said.

Derek smiled at him, then turned his eyes back to the road. 'I always want to kiss you.'

-/-

As they walked into the movie theatre in the neighbouring town of Grant they looked more like brothers, punching and bickering at each other. Derek paid though, and rolled his eyes at the amount of sugar treats Stiles ordered. 'I'm not drinking that crap,' Derek muttered as he watched syrup being poured over ice.

'It tastes amazing,' Stiles rubbed his hands together. Derek pocketed some of the candy and lifted the tub of popcorn.

'If you don't hurry up we'll miss the start of the movie,' Derek complained. Stiles turned to him with a grin and offered a cheeky salute. Derek rolled his eyes and turned towards the screens.

The theatre was quiet and practically empty, and they took a seat at the back. Stiles immediately curled into Derek's heat and Derek couldn't resist putting his arm around Stiles, resting the popcorn between them.

'Three weeks,' Stiles whispered into Derek's ear.

John wasn't being obtuse when he told them to be subtle about their relationship, he didn't want Derek's career affected, or his son to have awkward problems at school. He'd agreed that when Stiles turned eighteen John would turn a blind eye to closed bedroom doors and sleepovers so long as no grades suffered.

So far Stiles was doing better than ever at school, and John was delighted about that, he said it often enough. Derek, it seemed, was a good influence as far as John was concerned. He speculated to Derek that it was because Stiles saw how fast hard work had pushed Derek up the career ladder and wanted to achieve that himself.

Not right now though, right now Stiles seemed to be intent on increasing the case of blue balls Derek had been suffering from since he met Stiles nine months ago at the Stilinski dinner table. New to the force and under the protective wing of John Stilinski, Derek had been grateful for the invite home, had been delighted at the chance to meet John's family.

John was one of the kindest men Derek had ever met, and Stiles chasing him, and the relationship it led to had made Derek feel like a real shit. When he caught Derek and Stiles chatting on the porch just a few months ago the first thing Derek felt was relief, followed by fear of what would happen. Nothing had actually happened between them other than some heavy make out sessions and one incident of Stiles coming in his jeans after a few minutes of riding Derek's thigh.

The memory of Stiles's scent, the noises he made had Derek's jeans tightening. Stiles's close proximity didn't help at all.

'Stiles,' Derek warned lowly.

'Derek,' Stiles countered pressing his lips against Derek's neck.

'You said it yourself. Three weeks,' Derek muttered tightening his arm around Stiles's shoulders as Stiles explored the inseam of Derek's jeans. 'Tell me about the rumours at school.'

Stiles huffed and balled his exploring fingers into a fist. 'It was all over the school that the girl was from Ashport. She was a cheerleader but she had an emo girlfriend. Apparently the favourite theory is that the cheerleader's ex-boyfriend was pissed and killed them both.'

'Kids and their rumours,' Derek muttered but he liked the theory and made a mental note to chat to John when he dropped Stiles home. Perhaps they could find out if it was some sort of twisted love triangle.

'Well that's one,' Stiles said. 'There's also the theory that she spontaneously combusted, she was a vampire who forgot to take special meds for sunlight,' he let his words trail off as he glanced at Derek to gauge his reaction.

Derek snorted and wrapped his arm tighter around Stiles as the previews ended and the movie started. Five minutes in Stiles's fingers found the inseam of Derek's jeans again and Derek groaned, preparing for a long evening.

-/-

Derek squeezed Stiles's arm one last time before pulling away and getting into the car. Stiles hung on the door preventing Derek from closing it with a cheeky smirk on his face. Derek raised an eyebrow but Stiles just shrugged at him. 'Text me!' He begged with teasing eyes.

'Don't you mean sext you?' Derek raised an eyebrow. Stiles let his jaw drop and Derek laughed pulling the door closed and starting the engine. Stiles turned away so he wouldn't be caught waving at his boyfriend like a looser.

'You're really into him aren't you?' John said when Stiles closed the front door.

'I thought we had this conversation,' Stiles said. John nodded his head.

'We did but I didn't think you were giving up your dreams for him,' John said. There was a pile of papers in front of him and Stiles realised it was his collage applications. He looked at the top one, Berkeley, and smiled.

'I always intended to go to Beacon Hills. They have some top courses and they run classes online from Berkeley and other great universities too,' Stiles shrugged. 'You're here, and Isaacs here, and now Derek's here. I don't want to leave town and leave my family.'

John sighed. 'I want what's best for you son,' he said with a frown on his face.

'I want that too, and I think I'd like to move out, but I'm not leaving town, I've made my decision.' Stiles said. 'We can't afford me to go running wild across half the country, not with Isaac wanting to go to college too.'

'So if you don't want to live here, and you want to save costs, where do you intend to live?' John asked raising an eyebrow.

'I ah, have a few ideas,' Stiles bit his lip and looked at his shoes. 'I'm going to finish high school and get a job, I could work in a bookshop or coffee shop part time, pay my way,' Stiles shrugged.

'Does Derek know about these plans?' John asked and Stiles noted the teasing tone of his voice.

'I may have mentioned something to him the other day,' Stiles shuffled his feet, 'look dad I should probably get some homework or something done.'

'Uh huh,' John said fully smiling now, 'you do that son.'

'Yeah,' Stiles backed out of the room and fled upstairs. He wasn't lying, he did have homework to finish. As he sat as his desk and listened to the sounds of Green Day coming from Isaac's room he decided his dad had a point, he really needed to talk to Derek about his future. Their future, shared together. Perhaps staying here would be better financially, but the idea of living with Derek sent chills down his back.

Stiles pushed thoughts of the future out of his head. He had Physics and History homework to look forward to and he really wanted to get a head start on an assignment due on Monday and update his revision notes. Stiles worked best when there was more than one subject in front of him, and with highlighter in one hand, and laptop running on his desk Stiles set himself to work.

Derek did text him, later, before bed, asking Stiles how the rest of his night had been. Stiles was just out of the shower and scrubbing the towel over his head when he heard the beep of the cell phone.

 _How was your night?_

Derek's texts, like him, were blunt and to the point.

 _I'm empty without you baby_

Stiles giggled as he sent his reply, biting his lip and waiting for a response.

 _Idiot_

He couldn't help but smile at the message as he popped the light off and rested his head on the pillow.


End file.
